Judo Bank CEO steps down

Judo Bank’s long-serving CEO Joseph Healy will leave his top spot while the challenger bank’s deputy CEO and chief relationship officer, Chris Bayliss set sights on the position.

The banks, which holds a focus on small and medium-sized enterprise lending, announced the change on Tuesday.

Healy officially leaves the CEO role on 18 March 2024 with Bayliss to commence as the new CEO and managing director on 19 March 2024. 

“Healy will remain until 28 June 2024 as an advisor to Mr Bayliss during the transition,” the statement said [pdf].

Judo Bank chairman, Peter Hodgson said, “Since the very beginning, Chris has been a key leader in building our bank.

“He has worked tirelessly and with clear purpose and drive across every corner of Judo as it has grown in both strength and size.  

He has held positions of Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Relationship Officer and Deputy CEO of Judo. 

“In each of these roles, he has applied his 40 years of business and retail banking experience, which has played an enormous part in building the bank we see today - a bank on a clear path to becoming a scale player in the Australian financial landscape,” Hodgson said.   

Bayliss said on his LinkedIn, “I am truly honoured to be the one chosen to lead the exceptional team at Judo through our next phase of growth.” 

“It has been an absolute privilege to work alongside Joseph to build this unique bank. A big part of what we see today is credit to his unwavering determination to push through and demand more for the SME business community.  

“Never once have I viewed a day at Judo as a “job”. For me this business is a part of who I am, what I stand for, and the difference I want to make - for this team, this company, and our SME customers. 

“Joseph, our promise to you is that we will continue to challenge and push the boundaries of what’s possible for the SMEs of Australia,” Bayliss concluded.

Meanwhile, Healy also posted on his LinkedIn stating it’s been an “incredible journey.”

“Since the early thinking on Judo back in 2015 when l was on sabbatical at university in China, to the roller coaster of raising capital, hiring a team, building a bank, coping with the uncertainty of a global pandemic, securing a banking licence and then successfully listing our bank on the ASX,” Healy said.

“There has never been a dull moment and we have had to dig deep into our reserves of resilience and unwavering belief in the vision we had for Judo.

“The best is yet to come for Judo Bank,” Healy said.

NAB also appointed a new CEO while The Bank of Sydney recently appointed Kieran McKenna as its new chief risk officer.